Natural gas reverts higher after supplies deemed within expectations
By Claudia Assis and Nick Godt, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures wavered Thursday, protected by a weaker dollar but feeling the pinch of wobbly U.S. equities.
Buyers pushed the benchmark contract past the $82-a-barrel level, but trading also manifested the lingering effects of a larger-than-anticipated increase in U.S. crude inventories reported on Wednesday.
Crude for December delivery (CLZ10 82.22, +0.28, +0.34%) lately added 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $82.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil traded higher most of floor trading, thanks to a weaker dollar, rising equities and data that painted a positive picture of the U.S. economy. The dollar index (DXY 77.25, -0.90, -1.15%) , which compares the dollar against a basket of major currencies, fell 1% to 77.39.
But the lift from a better-than-expected weekly reading on U.S. jobless claims proved short-lived, and prices dipped.
Equities turned lower as well, as traders acted cautiously on the eve of a revised government forecast of growth in the nation’s gross domestic product for the third quarter. Financial markets also anticipate what a key Federal Reserve meeting next week will reveal. Read more about stocks.
The Labor Department said Thursday first-time jobless claims fell by 21,000 to a total of 434,000 last week. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a total of 450,000 initial claims for the week ended Oct. 23.
Claims thus stood at their lowest level since July 10.
Meanwhile, natural-gas futures turned higher after the government’s supply report came in within expectations.
Natural gas for December delivery (NGZ10 3.72, -0.05, -1.28%) gained a penny to $3.77 per million British thermal units; it had traded around $3.70 before the Energy Information Administration data.
The EIA said natural gas in storage rose 71 billion cubic feet for the week ended Oct. 22. Analysts polled by Platts had expected an increase of 70 billion to 74 billion cubic feet.
Gasoline for December delivery (RBZ10 2.07, +0.00, +0.09%) retreated less than a penny to $2.07 a gallon.
On Wednesday, the crude-oil contract fell 61 cents, playing off the increase in U.S. inventories and the dollar’s move to its highest level in a week against other currencies.
